Each month sees in a batch of new US patents for golfballs. Can their numbers serve as a pointer for estimating the ongoing condition of human ingenuity? An Improbable Investigation.
The Golfball Index moved back into positive territory in February 2012, with 9 new US golfball patents being granted. This represented a 350% increase over the very poor showing of Jan 2012, when there were only 2 golfball patents for the entire month. February’s strongly upward trend fell back a little in March however, with just 7 new golfballs.
January 2012
• Golf balls incorporating rigid, rosin-modified polymers
• Golf ball comprising isocyanate-modified composition
February 2012
• Multilayer golf ball with a thin thermoset outer layer
• Golf ball having cross-core hardness differential and method for making it
March 2012
• Golf ball layer having reduced surface hardness and method of making same
• Golf ball with multiple cover layers
• Treatment for facilitating bonding between golf ball layers and resultant golf balls
• Golf ball surface patterns comprising multiple channels
Caution with regard to forward-looking statements :
Historical data should not be taken as an indicator of future performance. The Golfball Index may go down as well as up.
Next Month : the Golfball Index update for April